Final Conflict

by Raymond L. Weil

  -

  On board the Sundance Lieutenant Stover grew suddenly alarmed. “Commander, I believe we have been detected. A fleet of Zaltule battlecruisers and assault ships have entered Fold Space and are headed directly toward our position.”

  Bree took in a deep breath. She suspected the Zaltule had located the probes and then traced the communications back to her ship. “Prepare to enter Fold Space. Send a self-destruct order to the probes. As soon as we have confirmed they have been destroyed we’ll leave.”

  -

  In the Zaltule System the four small probes suddenly exploded as the five-kiloton nukes inside each one detonated, leaving no debris behind.

  -

  “Take us into Fold Space,” ordered Commander Smith as soon as she was notified of the destruction of the probes. “Set a course for the rendezvous with the rest of the fleet.”

  The Sundance quickly moved away from the icy planetoid it had been using for protection and accelerated away toward deep space. When they were far enough away from the planetoid the ship’s Fold Space drive activated and the ship fled the Zaltule system at a speed many times that of light.

  -

  Military Overlord Tetus was not surprised when the four probes self-destructed and the Human ship went into Fold Space. “Does Breerel have a trace on their direction?”

  “Yes,” confirmed the Zaltule at communications. “His fleet will be following at a discreet distance and when the Humans drop out of Fold Space he will move in and attack. The Humans will not escape his grasp.”

  Minor Military Overlord Breerel was very efficient and a crafty fleet commander. Tetus was satisfied the Human threat would be annihilated. Turning back to one of the large viewscreens, he began studying the defenses around the three hives on the planet. It was paramount he make sure the Queens were well protected. He also knew it was wise not to underestimate the Humans.

  -

  The Sundance was well on its way to the rendezvous with the rest of the fleet when Lieutenant Stover noticed a flicker on the long-range sensors. His eyes widened as he adjusted the sensors to give him a clearer reading of what was barely registering at extreme range. “We may have a problem,” he announced, looking over toward the commander. “It appears we have some Zaltule ships following us. I can’t get a clear image of what they are but I believe there are at least several Zaltule battlecruisers and a number of assault ships.”

  “Can they be tracking us in Fold Space?” asked Newman, his eyes narrowing sharply.

  “Maybe,” replied Bree as she shifted her gaze to one of the tactical displays. “Change our course by twenty degrees and see if they continue to follow.”

  The course was changed and after a few minutes Lieutenant Stover confirmed they were still being followed.

  “Well that tears it,” said Newman, folding his arms over his chest. “When we drop out of Fold Space we’re going to have a battle to fight.”

  Bree quickly considered her options. “How long will it take to gather the rest of the fleet and plot our next set of Fold Space coordinates?”

  “Only a couple of minutes but the Zaltule will arrive before we can safely get the fleet into Fold Space and even then they may continue to follow us.”

  Bree didn’t like hearing that but knew there was little she could do to change it. “As soon as we drop out of Fold Space send all the data we’ve collected to the other ships. At least that way if one ship of the fleet makes it back to the Solar System the data we’ve gathered will as well.”

  Newman nodded. “We still have over twelve hours of travel before we reach the rendezvous coordinates.”

  “Make sure everyone gets some rest between now and then. Once we drop out of Fold Space we’re going to be busy.”

  -

  Minor Military Overlord Breerel was watching the long-range sensors with interest. He suspected the Human ship was going to a star system to rendezvous with more Human ships. When they did he planned on dropping out of Fold Space and englobing the enemy, making it impossible for them to escape. He realized he would have a very small window of opportunity to carry out his plan. Focusing his multifaceted eyes on the tactical display, he could see the twenty battlecruisers and eighty assault ships assigned to his task group. That should be sufficient to carry out what he was planning.

  -

  Early the next morning Bree made her way back to the Command Center. She had gotten a good eight hours sleep and eaten a hearty breakfast. Now it was time to see if the Zaltule were still following them and to make up a plan of battle, which would allow most of the ships in her small fleet to survive.

  Stepping into the Command Center Bree made her way to the command chair and sat down. It was still a little early and only about half of the primary command crew were at their stations. “Status of the Zaltule ships?”

  “Still following us,” replied Lieutenant Stover. “I have better readings on the Zaltule fleet. There are at least twelve battlecruisers following us as well as thirty assault ships. There may be more our sensors aren’t picking up.”

  Bree leaned back in her chair taking a deep breath. This wasn’t good news. “How long before we can send a message to our fleet?” They did have limited FTL communications while in Fold Space.

  “Another two hours,” replied the communications officer.

  The fingers of the commander’s right hand tapped the armrest of her chair as she thought of what to do. “As soon as we’re in range, transmit all the data we’ve gathered to the fleet. As soon as they’ve confirmed receiving it they’re to enter Fold Space and head back to the Solar System.”

  There was quiet in the Command Center. Everyone knew without the fleet the Sundance would stand little chance of escaping the pursuing Zaltule ships.

  “Yes, Commander,” the communications officer replied.

  “Are we still going to drop out of Fold Space?” asked Newman.

  Bree nodded. “Yes, I want to give our other ships time to get far enough away so the Zaltule can’t detect them. The Zaltule will home in on us and with a little luck will never know the other ships were ever there.”

  Newman looked at Bree with a dead serious look in his eyes. “We may not survive.”

  “Then we’d better get our Fold Space drive recharged as soon as we can. As soon as we exit Fold Space we’ll go to Condition One and raise our shields. When the Zaltule show up we will hit them with every missile and energy beam we have. We’ll make them regret ever attacking the Sundance.”

  -

  Four hours later the Sundance dropped out of Fold Space and immediately its defensive energy shield snapped into place. At the same time the ship’s Fold Space drive began recharging. Hatches slid open on missile tubes and all weapons turrets were pointing toward space.

  “We’re at Condition One and ready for combat,” reported Second Officer Newman.

  “The Zaltule fleet will be dropping out of Fold Space in two minutes and eighteen seconds,” added Lieutenant Stover.

  Bree felt her pulse racing. She knew there was a good likelihood her ship and crew would not survive this battle.

  “Closing all emergency bulkheads and repair crews have been stationed throughout the ship,” said Newman. “We’re as ready as we can be.”

  Bree closed her eyes and said a short prayer. While she was not overly religious, it wasn’t going to hurt. Opening her eyes she gazed at the tactical display. There were more Zaltule ships now showing.

  “Enemy force estimated at twenty battlecruisers and eighty assault ships.”

  A cold chill ran down Bree’s back. “Can we survive for thirty seconds against that type of firepower?”

  Newman shook his head.

  “Are there any asteroids or planets nearby?”

  “No, but there’s a comet close by,” reported Lieutenant Stover. “It’s less than sixty thousand kilometers distant.”

  An idea came to Bree. “Put the Sundance near the comet’s tail. Maybe it will confuse the Zaltule targeting senso
rs. It just might buy us the time we need to escape.”

  The Sundance turned forty degrees and accelerated rapidly toward the comet. The ship was almost there when the Zaltule began dropping out of Fold Space.

  “Launch missiles!” ordered Bree, leaning forward. She knew it would take a few seconds for the enemies’ shields to snap into place.

  “Missiles launched,” reported Lieutenant Berry as she pressed several icons on her computer screen. “Twenty-four missiles away. New missiles are being loaded into the launch tubes.”

  “Fire energy beams!”

  -

  Space suddenly lit up as multi-megaton explosions slammed into a Zaltule battlecruiser, splitting it in two. Particle beam fire then finished off the battlecruiser, tearing the two burning sections apart. The fires rapidly died as the oxygen was depleted, leaving a wrecked hulk floating in space.

  A Zaltule assault ship blew apart as it was hit by the Sundance’s plasma cannon. Then the energy shields of the Zaltule ships snapped into place.

  -

  “Enemy shields are up,” reported Lieutenant Stover. “Our weapons fire isn’t getting through anymore.”

  “Switch our fire to the assault ships,” ordered Bree. “We might still be able to knock a few of them down.”

  “We’re nearing the comet’s tail,” reported Newman. “That should shield us partly from enemy fire.” Even as he spoke the Sundance shook violently and alarms began sounding.

  “Hull breach in section seventeen,” reported the damage control officer. “We’re venting atmosphere and I’m sealing the section off.”

  On the primary viewscreen, another Zaltule assault ship blew apart as several multi-warhead antimatter missiles knocked down its shield.

  “Twenty seconds until Fold Space drive is charged,” reported Newman. “Energy shield is down to 47 percent.”

  The Sundance shook violently and the sound of tearing metal could be heard. Almost immediately there were several small explosions.

  “We’ve taken two fusion beam hits to the hull. We’ve suffered major damage near Engineering and Life Support,” reported the damage control officer. “I’ve sealed off both areas.”

  “Are they still operational?” asked Bree concerned. Without Engineering or Life Support they were as good as dead.

  “Yes,” replied the damage control officer. “The damage is just outside the compartments. I sealed them off to help protect them. We have several fires burning at the moment.”

  Bree looked at the viewscreen. The Sundance was near the comet and hugging the tail without quite entering it. That was preventing the majority of the Zaltule ships from firing upon the ship.

  “Ten seconds until Fold Space drive is charged,” reported Newman in a tight voice.

  The Sundance shook again and the lights dimmed and then returned to normal. A console exploded in a shower of sparks as a power surge overloaded it. In the distance, Bree thought she could hear someone screaming.

  The ship shook again and was rattled by a muffled explosion.

  “We have a large hole in the hull at section B14,” reported the damage control officer. “We just lost two KEW turrets and four particle beam turrets.”

  The lights in the Command Center dimmed again and stayed dim. Bree looked questionably at Newman.

  “We’re losing power,” he replied as he listened to someone over his comm. “We’re switching to auxiliary power.”

  “Fold Space drive is charged!” yelled the navigation officer.

  “Then get us out of here!” ordered Bree through tight lips.

  -

  The heavily damaged battlecruiser made the transition into Fold Space and sped away from the scene of the battle, leaving the Zaltule behind.

  -

  Minor Military Overlord Breerel gazed coldly at the viewscreen, which was now only showing the tail of the comet. The Human ship was gone.

  “Do we pursue?” asked the Zaltule at navigation.

  “Their ship is heavily damaged,” answered Breerel. “Our last scans indicate a major power loss. It’s doubtful if the ship can make it back to the Humans’ system. “We will return to Warmik and report the success of our mission.” Breerel had been surprised by the power of the Humans’ weapons. He had lost a battlecruiser and two assault ships. True, two of those losses had been due to shields being down after exiting Fold Space. Overall he was satisfied with the battle. It gave him vital tactical information if he ever had to fight the Humans in the future.

  -

  The Sundance was plodding along at half its normal speed in Fold Space. Repair crews were working throughout the ship.

  “We took a lot of damage,” reported Newman. “It will be four or five days before we can restore main power.”

  “What about casualties?” Bree knew there had to be quite a few. Her ship had taken too much damage for there not to be.

  “One hundred and fifteen confirmed dead and another twenty-seven missing,” replied Newman grim faced. “We have an additional one hundred and eighty who are injured. Forty-two of those are in critical condition. At the moment our med bay is swamped.”

  Bree shuddered. That was nearly half of the crew either dead or injured. “Can we make it back?”

  “Maybe,” replied Newman. “If the ship holds together. We have some structural issues we may have to attend to. If we hadn’t made the transition into Fold Space when we did we wouldn’t have lasted another ten seconds against that firepower.”

  Bree nodded. She knew they had been lucky to escape. She just hoped now they could make it back to the Solar System. However, as severely damaged as the Sundance was, that might not be possible.

  Chapter Twelve

  Admiral Kelly was in the Command Center of Centerpoint Station when an alarm began sounding.

  “We have a problem,” reported Major Moore, looking concerned. “Two of our assault ships we sent to detect a possible Zaltule incursion have detected an inbound Zaltule fleet.”

  Admiral Kelly felt a cold chill sweep over him. He walked over to the large sensor console. “How many ships?” He had been afraid this was going to happen. The initial incursion by the Zaltule had been a minor one.

  Moore glanced at a data screen and then replied, “Eighty battlecruisers and two hundred assault ships.”

  This didn’t sound good. “Do we have a course?”

  Moore nodded. “They appear to be heading toward Pradel.”

  This surprised Kelly. Pradel was eight hundred and seventy light years from Earth and one of the main worlds of the Alliance. Why would the Zaltule be heading there?

  “Is there any sign the Zaltule know they’ve been detected?”

  “No, the assault ships were powered down and using passive sensors only. The Zaltule fleet dropped out of Fold Space to take navigation readings before setting a course directly for Pradel.”

  Kelly took a few moments to think. At the speed the Zaltule were traveling, it would take them ten to twelve days to reach Pradel. That gave Kelly time to set up a welcoming committee for this fleet of the Zaltule. “Contact Rear Admiral Blair and General Timmons, we have some war plans to make.”

  -

  Later the three were in Admiral Kelly’s office reviewing the data from the assault ships on the Zaltule fleet.

  “Eighty of those damn big battlecruisers,” muttered Rear Admiral Blair, shaking his head. “We can handle the assault ships but I don’t know about the battlecruisers. This could get nasty.”

  “The Pradelians’ have a pretty good size defense fleet,” said Admiral Kelly as he checked some information on his computer. “We can also reach out to other Alliance worlds for ships.”

  “If we do this how many of our own fleets do we send?” asked General Timmons. He didn’t want to leave the Solar System under defended, not after all the work which had gone into the rebuilding effort.

  “Two,” replied Kelly. “Rear Admiral Haden’s fleet and Rear Admiral Stinson’s fleet.”

  “Stinson l
ost a lot of ships in her battle at Zadole Four,” pointed out Rear Admiral Blair. “Her fleets not in shape for another major battle.”

  “Yes, she did,” answered Kelly. “However, we’re assigning new ships to her fleet to replace the ones she lost. If we can send two fleets and the Alliance can send some ships, and if you add the Pradelian home system defense fleet we just might be able to take out these Zaltule.”

  “What about the Alliance ships here in our system?” asked General Timmons. “Are we going to include any of them?” Timmons was referring to the alien races living in some of the larger asteroids in the system. They had fled to the Solar System to escape the Kleese and the Zaltule years ago.

  This was something Kelly had already considered. “We may ask for a few. As you know, the Alliance races living in the asteroids don’t have massive populations. They’ve only built a few new ships over the years and those with our aid.”

  “It would be nice to take a third fleet made up of their vessels,” said Rear Admiral Blair. “All of those ships are equipped with different types of weapons.”

  “I’ll ask but I don’t want to put any pressure on them. Those fleets are also useful for defending the Solar System.”

  Rear Admiral Blair looked thoughtful. “We have ten days to get ready and it will take our fleets eight days just to get to the Pradel System.”

  “They’ll leave late tomorrow. I’ve already sent out orders canceling all leaves and calling the crews back to their ships.”

  “We’re going to take some losses,” said General Timmons with a concerned frown. “Possibly some pretty big ones.”

  Admiral Kelly nodded. “It can’t be helped. Hopefully we’ll have enough ships from the Alliance and Pradel to hold our losses to a minimum. However, these are Zaltule and they know how to fight. We can’t afford to underestimate them.”

  “I’ll start the work to get all the ships of both fleets fully supplied. That’s going to take nearly twenty-four hours by itself,” said Rear Admiral Blair.